Drive mechanism



March l5, 1960 E. LAxo DRIVE MEcHANIsM 2 Shes ts-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 16, 1957 INVENTOR. E D L ,4X0 BY [2; 5457 March` 15, 1960 E LAX@ 2,928,515

INVENTOR. EO L X0 vUnited States Patent 2,928,515 DRIV-E MECHANISM.

Ed Laxe, Oakland, Calif.

Application Augusti16, 19\57, Serial'No; 678,163.7V

6. claims. (er. 19e-4s).

This.' invention relates: to a drive mechanism. Morev particularly this invention relates to. adualclutch mechanism which is capable of driving one or both of twok shafts, and it has special application to thesoldering elementy and` thev side seam forming element of a can body making. machine.

lnmaking' tubularA can bodies, can body` blanksv are slit andnotched and are then' folded along; their edges to form. hooks.- from which side seams areA formed. The slit, .notched and.. folded blanksare. then supplied; to a. sideseam forming, element. which interlocks. the pre formed. hooksl and hammers.` then to form sider seams. '17de-tubular bodiesl soA formed. are'v then supplied to-a soldering element for. application of solder. to the? side seams. In thesoldering element. the tubular canv bodies are. caused to pass. between guiderails in contact'. with a rotating solder roll.. The. solder rollV rotatesin. abath of' molten` solder and'. applies solder to. the side seams of the can. bodies. as. they pass through.. A-.eontinuously 'moving conveyor. conveys each cairbody` from the-side seam. forming.. element. through. the. soldering element;-

The side seam forming elementand. the' soldering` element of a can. body maker must operatel ati high: speed 'and in accurately timedrelation. Also, it -isnecessary at times to stop the side seam-forming element, .for example, to make repairs or adjustments orto. removea jammed. can body. If? the. stoppage is of shortduration-v it. is preferable that the soldering element continueoperatig. Otherwise, if.` the solder -roll'is allowed to come to. rest, it` may ybecome fouled by the solder.

Heretofore it has been a commonpractice to. provide tw'o shafts one of which operates the solderinge'lement and" will be referred'to for convenience as the? soldering shaf The other sha-ft. operates the side seam forming` element andv will be referred to for convenience as the side Vseamer`shaft'. In such prior design the t`wo shafts haver been driven as follows: The side seamer" shaft. is: operated by a first' clutch and, when. driven itj also drives the soldering shaf through a gear train. The soldering shaft is also driven directly by a second' clutch. The gear train employs an overrunning clutch which permits4 the soldering shaft to bed'rven directly by the secondl clutch without operatingV the. side seamer shaft. This' overrunning clutch also employs aV timingA featurek which insures' that both shafts, when driven together, operate inipropertly timedi'relation'. By engaging th'efrst clutch; bo'th" shafts are driven. together and'by engagingA thev second; clutch onlythemsoldering sl-iaft" is driven. Y Y

As indicated; tnis'iprior' drive mechanism. requres'a gear' train" to` connect the. twofshafts". Such gear train. is" expensive', it requires a' housing and other disadvantagesv result.

It" is an object` of the present invention to provide a novel' and' improvedY drive mechanism which is capable of: driving: one' or: hotl'izofztrtzoV shafts'.

It is aparticular object. of theA invention to provide a drive rnechanisn'l` whereby the. side seam forming; ele.

ment and ther soldering'. element. of a can body maker can be operatedinunison' but, when desired, the. solder. element: can. be: operated Without operating the: side seam: forming element, such mechanism. having. the advantages'v andperforming thev functions; of prior mechanisms. but having the. advantage of eliminating the gear train 4cormection between the shafts..

.These and other objects of the invention will be apparent fromtheensuingdescription: and appended claims.

@ne` form of: the invention is" shown by way of a source:v ofv power for.' the purpose. of driving the twoV shafts together ini properly timed relation, or' to operate the'. shaftV I2'v alonef without operating. the. Shaft 11;.

More particularly the. shaft. 11' willF be connected to the sider scanr forming: element. of a can body making machineA through suitable gearing.v (noti shown). andthe shaft; 12` will. be connected to the soldering. element of the same can body making machine,V also through suit'- able gearing: (not shown). It is'intende'dlthat the clutch mechanism 1i) operate the vshaft 12. continuously'and at all times and that it 'operate the.' shaft lili'whenvl desired'. It' is' also intend`ed`that the.r shafts 11 and' 12f operate. in precisely timed relation. Thus shaft'. E1 must'. operate eert-ain parts, suclr as'. the'. bumper steelof a. sidefseamer,

in timed relation to; the operation of parts. which-'are operated by the shaft V12; eg., a can bodyv conveyor. Therefore; when the shaft 1'1 is stopped" while shaft"12 continues tof operate, and? theV shaft 11.is started again, itshould be startedin' timed relationy to the shaft 12;

'Phe-clutch4 mechanism 1t) includes a pulley'1`3 which through the driving'. and. driven elements 1.5 and 17 of' clutch 1-6- and a= hub 23 which. is boltedto the. driven` element 17 and' is keyed at 23a to the shaft 11. 'Iherefore, itl willbe apparent that when. the magnetic clutch. 16.V is.A engaged the pulleyl 13 will drive the'shaft 11'.

It is desired that,l as long as the shaft 11 is driven, the shafts 12 shall also-:beK driven. To' this-end a; drivingconnectionY betweenl the shafts 1f1 and 12 is providediwhich" is'generallydesignatedby the referencev numeral 25'. This connection is shown in longitudinal. section inFiguiefl andviu transverse section in Figure 2. The drivilgconnectiorr 25,` as Willi appearmore fully4 hereinafter, an? overrunning clutch which requires that sl1aft`12v rotate` atfall timesl when shaft. l11 rotates, but which permits shaft;12torotate while shaft -11 is idle. l 1 Y Theconnection or clutch'comprises a hub-or driving element 2/6which'is keyed at 26a tothe extreme:leftfhand end (las viewed in-Figure l) of the shaft :11. Thereforethe'idriving, element 2'6y willgrotate: with the shaft 11'.k ReV Vferringf. now moreparticularly-to Figure 2, itwilllbefseen that the driving element 26 isformed with two notches 27 which are located 180 apart. Each of the notches 27 isV vAs will be seen from an inspection'of Figure 2, the

driven element 29 of the'clutch 25 is formedron its inner surface with a recess E31 which is intended to receive a' dog 32. Thedog 32 has a cylindrical head portion 33 which is rotatable in a cylindrical portion 34 of the recess 31. As will be seen, one'end ofthe dog 32 hasa at surface 3-5 which is intended to engage with the shoulder 28 of either notch 27. The other, cylindrical end 34 of the dog 32 is notched at 36 for engaging one end of apin 40;' The pin 40 is slidably received in a passageway 41 formed in the driven element 29 and it is pressed against the notch 36 by a spring42. Thespring 42 is compressed by a set screw 4i3 which is'locked in place by a set screw 44.

It will be apparent from an inspection of Figures 1 and 2 that, as long as the shaft 11 is driven in counterclockwise direction (as viewed in Figure 2) by the pulley 13 through the magnetic clutch I15, the driven element'29 of the mechanical clutch 2S will be driven in thevsame direction and'will, accordingly, drive the connector shaft 12a in countercloc'kwise direction and at the same angular velocity. vA sleeve y45 is provided whichis formed of two parts bolted together and it is keyed at 45a to both of the 1'..

shafts 12a and 12. The purpose of the latter construction (i.e., the connector shaft 12a and the sleeve 45) is to permit easy access to and removal 'of the shaft 12 and Y other elements of the device.

It will, therefore,'be apparent that as long as the pulley Jif- `13 drives the shaft 11, it will also drive the shaft i12 at the same speed and in the same direction@ Y For the purpose of driving the shaft 12 independently of the shaft 11, there is provideda second magnetic clutch which is to the left of thepulley 13 as viewed in Figure 1 and is generally designated by the reference numeral' S0.V The magnetic clutch has a driving element 51 and a driven element 52 which are engaged when an electromagnetic element 52a is energized. The driven element V52 is bolted to a sleeve 53 which is keyed to an inner sleeve 54which is formed at its left-hand end (as viewed in Figurel) with a flange 55.4 The ange A55 is bolted at 56. to the driven element 29 of the mechanical clutch VThe circuit arrangement of the magneticclutches -15 and 50 will be such that, when 'the magnetic clutchV 15' is energized and engaged V(thereforedriving shafts 11 and 12 in the manner described above), the c1utch5l0`is de-energized .anddisengaged Thecircuit arrangement is also such that, when the magnetic clutch50 is ener-- gized the magnetic clutch 1-5 is deenergized,' and isthere-L and disengagement of themagnetic clutch 15) the shaft'v 12 will bedriven and the shaft 11will remain stationary.

It will be apparent that the circuitry of the magnetic* clutches 1-5 and 50A may be such that they can be operated switchindependently. Thus each may have an off-and-on which may be operated manually.

It will further be. apparent that, after a-period during'i which the shaft V11 has been idle' andthe shaft 12rh'as` been rotating, when the magnetic' clutch "50 is again deenergized and the magnetic clutch 15 is energizedfthe" shaft 11 will start rotating in precisely timedv relation-A ship to the shaft 12. Thus, referring to `Figure 2, the

shafts 11 and 12. can engage in only two positions corre' spending to the two notches 27 and the dogr'32. 1 VSince the" t notches 27'` are 180 apart, thefangular relation of the twoyshafts 111and 12,` while'they' are rotating togetherfll must be either of two positions which are 180 apart. `Therefore parts operated by the shaft 11 will operate in timed relation to parts operated by shaft 12.

The two electromagnetic elements 18 and 52a (both of which are shownin `Figure 1) are mounted and held` l against rotation as follows: The element 18 is carried` and restrained by a ange and hub mounted on the shaft 11 by bearingsl; lThe element 52a is similarly held and restrained` by a flangeand hub 60a.which is` mounted on shaft 11 by bearings 61a. Referring tol Figure 2, the restraining flange and hub 60a which supports the electromagnetic element 52a is connected by a link 62 to a `static'mar'y frame 63. The flange and hub 60 which support and restrain the electromagnetic element 18 is similarly provided with 7a `1ink`(not shown).

It will, therefore, be apparent that a mechanism has been provided which is capable of driving, or of trans mitting a drive, to one or both of two shafts,such mechanism being also capable of maintaining `timed relation between the shafts and avoiding' the need for angear train between the shafts.

I claim:

--1. A drive mechanism of the character described com-4 `1 prising first and second coaxial shafts, a common drive,

Vfirst and second clutches each having a driving element i driven bysaid common drive, said'iirst clutchihaving a ing element connected toand driven by said iirst shaft,`

and adrivenelement` connected toy and driving said second shaft, the driving and driven Aelements of said overrunning clutch having an overrunning relation Vwherebyr the driving element will drivethe driven element thereof but `the `latter will overrun the driving yelement thereof;`

the driven elementof said Vsecond clutch being connectedto the driven element of said'overrunning clutch.

2. 'A mechanism of the character described comprising a `frame and first and second shafts journaled in said frame in axial alignment, an "overrunning clutch inter' connecting rsaid shafts, said overrunning clutch having a driving element connected toand `rotating withsaid` first shaft and a driven element connected to and .rotating with said second shaft; meansinterconnecting said driv-j i' ing 1.element with said driven element to causethe driv-y ing element', when rotated in a ,pretermined direction', to Vdrive `the driven elemenn'israid interconnecting means being-such that, when the drivingelement is idle' and the driven element isfoperated by .other means, it will overrun the driving element; first and second main clutches.

each having `a driving element,V a driven elementgand' Vmeans establishing a driving connection therebetween to:

cause each driving element to driveA its driven element;`

.. and means connecting the driven. element `of saidr first. main clutch t'o said first shaft vto drive the latter, when.

the first clutch is engaged and means connecting the driven element of the second mainc'lutchto thevd'riven element of said overrunning clutch to drive the latter when.

, the second clutchis engaged.

,v drive`the` driven element, saidflinterconnecting means, being `such that, when the driving element isiidleand the driven element is operated by other means, it will- 3. A mechanism of the character described Ycompris-A.`

element, whenrrotated in -a predetermineddirection, `to

'overrunthe driving element; rst andsecond main clutches each having a'driving element, a driven element;l and means establishing a drivingconnection therebetween;

to cause `each driving element to drive its driven element;

andI means connecting the' driven 'element of Asaid rst" main clutch to said first shaft to drive the latter when the first clutch is engaged and means connecting the driven element of the second main clutch to the driven element of said overrunning clutch to drive the latter when the second clutch is engaged.

4. A mechanism ofthe character described comprising a frame and first and second shafts journaled in said frame in axial alignment, an overrunning clutch interconnecting said shafts, said overrunning clutch having a driving element connected to and rotating with said first shaft and a driven element connected to and rotating with said second shaft; means interconnecting said driven element with said driving element to cause the driving element, when rotated in a predetermined direction, to engage the driven element in only certain predetermined angular relations, and, when so engaged, to drive the driven element, said interconnecting means being such that, when the driving element is idle and the driven element is operated by other means, it will overrun the driving element; first and second main clutches each having a driving element, a driven element, and means establishing a driving connection therebetween to cause each driving element to drive its driven element; and means connecting the driven element of said first main clutch to said first shaft to drive the latter when the first clutch is engaged and means connecting the driven elementof the second main clutch to the driven element of said overrunning clutch to drive the latter when the second clutch is engaged.

5. A clutch and drive mechanism of the character described comprising a frame, first and second axially aligned shafts journaled in said frame, a common drive member for said shafts, a first clutch and a second clutch each having a driving member connected to and driven by said common drive member, said first clutch having a driven member connected to and serving to drive said first shaft when the first clutch is engaged, said second clutch also having a driven member; said mechanism also comprising an overrunning clutch including a driving member connected to said first shaft to rotate therewith 4 when said first clutch is engaged and having also a driven member and means interconnecting said driving and driven members whereby the driving member will engage the driven member in only certain selected angular run the driving member when the latter is idle andthe formed is driven by other means; and means connecting the driven member of said second clutch to the driven member of said overrunning clutch to drive the'latter when the second clutch is engaged.

6. A clutch and drive mechanism of the character described comprising a frame, first and second axially aligned shafts journaled in said frame, a common drive member for both of said shafts, first and second magnetic clutches each having a driving element and a driven element; means connecting the driving element of each magnetic clutch to said common drive whereby both are driven by such drive; magnetic means for engaging either driving element with its respective driven element, such magnetic means being operable to engage either of the magnetic clutches while maintaining the other of such clutches disengaged; means connecting the driven element of thevrst magnetic clutch to s'aid first shaft to drive the latter when vthe first magnetic clutch is engaged; an overrunning clutch having a driving element connected to said first shaft to rotateftherewith, a driven element, an overrunning type connecting means operatively connecting said driving element with its driven element to cause the two elements to engage in only selective relative angular positions when the first shaft is operating and to permit the driven element to operate when the driving element is idle; and means connecting the driven element of said overrunning clutch with said second shaft to drive the latter and means connecting such driven ele-l ment with the driven element of said second magnetic clutch to drive said second shaft when the second magnetic clutch is engaged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,413,058 Richardson Apr. 18, 1922 2,573,152 Leifer Oct. 30, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 405,376 Italy Aug'- 9, 1943 

